1. Field
This garment relates to a combination of apron, towel and wrap to be used by a caregiver in the process of bathing and drying an infant or a toddler. Immediately after the bath, this garment can be used as a wrap for infants and a bathrobe for toddlers to keep them warm until the caregiver is able to change them.
2. Prior Art
Bathing and drying an infant or a toddler is usually a difficult, wet, and sometimes dangerous process. When dealing with newborns and small babies, the challenge for the caregiver is to coordinate lifting the infant from the tub and placing a towel around the infant. It is key for the caregiver to give the, infant full attention during the bath, and not be distracted by getting wet, or by trying to reach a towel. Removing an infant from a tub without a conveniently placed towel gets the caregiver wet and leaves the infant cold until the caregiver is able to wrap the towel around the infant. Furthermore, if one hand is required to hold a towel, then only one hand remains to lift and hold the infant. Considering the wet and therefore slippery conditions of the infant, the caregiver could drop the infant. Moreover, holding the towel under the chin or between the teeth to free up hands before lifting the infant from the tub is a very unpractical and inefficient procedure.
In the case of bathing a toddler who can stand and walk, the challenge shifts to keeping the toddler still in the bath. Toddlers typically splash around more than infants and are likely to get caregivers wet. Plus, they could simply get out of the bathtub and walk away wet before the caregiver can keep a towel around them. This can become dangerous since they would be dripping water everywhere, making the floor slippery. And even if the caregiver manages to put a conventional towel around the child, the chances that the towel will fall to the ground while the child is walking are high.
Thereafter, several types of bath towels have been proposed in the prior art. Although these applications may be suitable for the specific individual purposes to which they address, they are not suitable to solve the full extent of the above stated problems.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,321,863 to Yamaguchi, et al., (1994) is a bath towel for babies. It does not attach to the caregiver with easily operable fasteners and therefore does not provide an effective way to keep the caregiver dry during the bath. It is just intended to keep the infant dry after the bath and it doesn't have a hood.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,154 to Smith (1987) is an apron and infant towel. It does not cover the caregiver to the neck allowing that exposed area to get wet. It is comprised of two big terry cloth panels (for the front and rear of the caregiver) making its manipulation unpractical and cumbersome. It does not provide an effective way to wrap the infant or toddler and stay on (in case the child moves). Moreover, it doesn't have a hood.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,594,829 to Turkheimer (2003) is a protective towel wrap. This towel is composed of three separate pieces making it unpractical to use. Furthermore, Turkheimer's towel does not provide a practical wrap that fastens like a bathrobe for toddlers without having part of the towel hang or come loose, especially when they walk around.
U.S. Pat. NO. 3,629,865 to Weiner (1971) is a baby towel and U.S. Pat. No. D343,498 to Donahue (1992) is a combined apron bib for a user and bath towel for an infant. When used by the caregiver, these towels fasten around the neck of the caregiver but not around the waist. This might leave the caregiver unprotected and the towel hanging when the caregiver is bathing the child with the, risk of the bottom part of the towel getting soaked if it incidentally dips in the bath water. Neither of these towels provide for toddlers, a practical wrap that fastens around them like a bathrobe, without having part of the towel hang or come loose, especially when they walk around. Furthermore, Weiner's towel doesn't have a hood to insure warmth for the head of the infant or toddler.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,536,047 B1 to Mullaly (2003) is an infant holding garment. It is big and cumbersome. It uses a significant amount of drying fabric, which could be uncomfortable for the caregiver. It's not easily removable since it has a belt that has to be manually tied with a knot: it can be very difficult to untie the knot when holding the infant. It does not provide a practical wrap for infants or toddlers.
None of the above inventions have two slits appropriately located through which the caregiver can slide his/her arms to tend to infant. This functionality is particularly useful when the caregiver lifts the infant with the caregiver's arms through these slits. The towel part that is over the caregiver's chest forms a convenient sling-like shape, which provides both safety and comfort for infant and caregiver. Moreover, this functionality provides even more protection to the caregiver from getting wet, and helps prevent water dripping on the floor making it more slippery for the caregiver. Finally, these slits are particularly useful when the garment converts into a bathrobe: they become the placeholders for the child's arms.